Glossary

Here you can find all the key terms we mention in the articles explained!

Alkaloids: Naturally occurring chemical compounds, often found in plants, that can have powerful biological effects, such as acting as poisons or medicines.

Bioactive compounds: Natural substances that affect living organisms — they can have medicinal or toxic effects.

Conservation: The act of protecting environments and ecosystems with the goal of preserving the wildlife in that area.

Dorsal: The upper or back side of an animal.

Eco-friendly: Not harmful to the environment.

Enzymes: Proteins in living organisms that speed up chemical reactions.

Extracts: Substances obtained by removing a part of a plant or organism, usually by soaking it in a liquid like alcohol or water.

Fatty acids: Building blocks of fats in the body and in food.

Insecticidal properties: The ability of a substance to kill insects.

Insecticide: A chemical substance used to kill insects.

Larvae: The immature, early form of an insect before it becomes an adult.

Lepidoptera: Meaning ‘scaled-wing’, Lepidoptera is a group of insects which comprises of moths and butterflies.

Resistance: The ability of insects (like mosquitoes) to survive exposure to a chemical (insecticide) that was previously effective against them.

Taxon: A taxon (plural taxa) is a collection of one or more populations (groups) of an organism.

Terpenes: Organic compounds found in many plants that often have strong smells and are sometimes used in natural insect repellents.

Vector: A living organism (often an insect) that spreads disease.

Jurassic: A period of time that ended 143.1 million years ago. 

Mutualism: A type of interaction between two or more species where there is an overall benefit for the individuals involved.

Brood: a collective term for offspring.  In social insects this includes egg, larva, and pupa.

Pesticides: A chemical used in agriculture to control or reduce the amount of harmful insects

RNA Interference: A type of biotechnology used to interfere with RNA which then interferes with the production of certain proteins within an organism.

Horizontally transferred genes: Genes which have been picked up from bacteria, fungi, or plants in the ancestors of current insects.

Resistance: When an organism has developed a way to overcome treatment by certain chemicals or pesticides

Cryptobiosis: a kind of deep sleep

Species richness: the number of different species in a place

Ecological indicators: organisms that reveal how healthy or polluted an environment is

Bioindicators: organisms that help reveal the health of an environment